What's in store for the next season of V? The debut of Anna's mother and strained familial ties in both Erica's household and Anna's, uh, spaceship. We talked with the show's leads after their panel at Comic-Con.

First off, what new tidbits did we learn at the crowded V panel?

- Anna's mother will appear, and she's named Diana (à la Jane Badler from the original V).
- Val is dead. She ain't coming back. Tyler's father will however debut.
- We will find out what the red sky signifies by the end of the Season Two opening.
- We will see a glimpse of the V homeworld.
- Charles Mesure a.k.a. Kyle Hobbes will become a cast regular.
- We will see a more fringe wing of the Fifth Column.
- Jack will become more of an action hero this season.
- The scope of the show will go international.

At the V round table, I sat down with a (blonde!) Morena Baccarin, she filled us on Anna's motivations this season. I asked her if we'd see Anna's fanged, crazy side this season. Baccarin quipped, "Sounds like you want to! Hopefully!" She also mentioned that the show goes back into production on August 12, and that "nobody's safe with Anna" and that Lisa could be in danger if (and when) her mother finds out about her duplicity. Baccarin also hinted that "It is very likely that [Anna] is the leader of all the Vs" and hopes that she sees class or familial stratification amongst the Vs.

Next up was Charles Mesure. He mentioned that all Kyle cares about is money, and that he wants to find out "What do these Vs have on me?" Even though Kyle's teamed up with the 5th Column, Mesure thinks he's going to become a good guy in spite of himself. Mesure also referred to Erica as "forbidden fruit" and characterized the merc as "a complete bastard in a state of change."

Executive producer Steve Pearlman dismissed rumors that the original V queen, Jane Badler, would be playing Anna's mother: "I think the name Anna was an homage to the original. Naming her mother Diana is a wink to the audience. I would not take it [that] Jane Badler would be cast in that role." Executive producer Scott Rosenbaum also quashed speculation that the Badler would come onboard as the V archmatriarch.

I don't know who's going to play Anna's mother. I refer to her as Diana […] I may change the name […] When I was pitching it to the studio, I found it easier to pitch it in terms of who is her mother.

Logan Huffman, who plays V-crazed human Tyler Evans also mentioned that mother issues were at the heart of his character. Huffman said:

I hope I have to choose between my mother and Anna [...] I want to defend [my mother]. I've never done that yet […] Tyler is falling down in the wrong direction […] and he needs that one moment where he stands up.

Huffman further noted that he sees Tyler's dilemma as ideological and not just that of having a cute, alien girlfriend. Rosenbaum noted that this a good thing, as Tyler's relationship with Lisa may not have legs in the long run:

If Lisa loves him […] and gets human emotions, who knows if she'll ever get that far, if she wants to have babies with Tyler, she'll probably have to kill him.

As for Elizabeth Mitchell, she was enthusiastic about the prospect of Anna and Erica becoming pals. I asked her about Erica and Anna's potential, one-sided friendship.

Are we going to see awkward buddy-buddy moments between Anna and Erica?

I would like to see that! I think the closer they get, the more nail-biting it's going to be. I think if they actually really, really get into each other's confidence and they start having those talks, how freaky will that be?

So we're going to see dinner parties, no?

I want to sit and watch a movie with her with a bowl of popcorn. Crying to The Terms of Endearment, y'know!